Art Collectibles Reflections

Bill’s thoughts

I finally got Front Row running on my 1st generation Mac Mini. I’m just letting folks know what worked for me, I’m not responsible if these suggestions don”t work for you.

Previously I installed Remote Buddy, a Keyspan IR remote receiver and a Harmony remote Harman/Kardon TC-30 which all worked fine although my system lacked the grace of the front end integration of Apples Front Row.

The Mac OS Tiger system install disk has front row on the disk, but since my system doesn”t have an IR remote receiver in it like the Imacs have, Front Row will not install on my Mini from the disk. A step by step work around can be found on Andrew Escobat’s blog. My first few attempts didn’t work, but some followup comments on his post led me to a solution. The first thing you have to do is find a copy of Front Row 1.3. and not FR 1.3.1. Apple was offering this free download, but now only offers newer version of Front Row which doesn’t work with Escobar’s Enabler 1.5. It’s not real easy to locate 1.3, but I finally found this older version at mediafire.com. After decompressing the installer for Front Row 1.3 and leaving my installer on my desktop, I ran enabler 1.5. All seemed to go as planned, but Front Row would not load.

The trick that pressed the magic work button was to install 2 more files that are located on the Mac OS X 10.4.19 combo update for PowerPC from Apple. This suggestion can be found toward the bottom of Andrew Escobat’’s blog. With the slick shareware program called Pacifist I can open the Apple update and Pacifist will search for “BezelServices”. Then Pacifist will install the two specific file folders you select:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BezelServices.framework/

/System/Library/LoginPlugins/BezelServices.loginPlugin/

After a restart, I had a working Front Row on my old Mini. Thank you Andrew Escobat and the folks who commented and added suggestions to his blog.

Bill’’s words

“Arena”

The Epson R1800 allows me to complete my art work in-house, which is no small chore. To give you a little background, I’ve been trying to print digital images since 1994. My main image criterion were durability, larger than 8×10, color accuracy, and continuous tone. Back then I settled for a Fargo PrimeraPro dye sublimation printer although the image size was limited to 8×10. A lot has changed in the last few years. The evolution of pigment inks with color accuracy has allowed your local photo stop or chain store to print you a large durable image. My experiences with these 3rd party sources has mostly been disappointing. Some of the problems have been scratches, over bleeds, changing a tiff file to an over compressed jpeg, and color tone shifting. I needed my own in-house printing solution. Thank you Epson for coming to my rescue. The experiences with my newly purchased refurbished R1800 has exceeded my expectations. The 10 mil thick premium luster paper comes in an 11.7 by 16.5 sheet size, which allows me to print my favorite image size of 11×14 and still have a white border to ease framing. The pigment inks match my monitor view and the icing on the cake is a clear cover coat over the image for durability.  These prints need to be seen in person; the details in the print go beyond your monitor view. Art work in-house is now the best. I may just stay in-house.

Bill’’s words

My Favorite Cameras

While helping folks to sell items on the web, I’ve had the opportunity to use a group of cameras. Since most of my photos are taken in a studio environment with lighting, most cameras will do a good job. We sell jewelry which requires the camera to have macro close-up ability. In the early days, Nikon’s Coolpix series allowed sharp photos taken up close enough to see jewelry marks. A camera that satisfied this need was the Nikon Coolpix 800. This camera was great for product photos and was large enough to feel good in my hands. Some of the items we sell are animated. With the point and shoot cameras adding movie capabilities at a reasonable price, I took the leap to the Nikon Coolpix 4600. This camera gave me what the Coolpix 800 gave plus the added function of Quicktime movies. One drawback that became more apparent was the small size of the 4600. I got used to using this size camera but it was always a little awkward. My wife Kathy liked the size of the 800 but wanted more telephoto ability for nature shots than the 800 provided. The search was on for a new camera.

Cost or bang for the buck was important, so I started reading the forums. The forum that helped the most was Digital Photo Review¬†(dpreview.com). They have a buyer’’s guide that allows you to list your needs. We listed the following needs: close-up, large telephoto, 700,000 pixels, stabilizer, and manual focus. The best bang for the buck was the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 and it came with a Leica lens, so it was a buy. It is said that the Lumix camera is almost identical to same featured Leica cameras. Well, Kathy has been tickled pink. The Lumix has been all she needed and more. We have been romping around Burlington county on photo expeditions and I was getting jealous of the great photos she was getting… her with her 12x stabilized zoom and me with my with 3x physically small Coolpix 4600. The real killer was a movie she took of a blue Heron slipping across the ice… what a great movie capture. I must have started sulking because a few weeks later Kathy gave me a present… yes, my own Lumix. This is a great camera. The feature I missed the most on a point and shoot was the manual focus. To shoot through glass or tree limbs, you need the manual focus in order to bypass the close objects to get the more distant object focused sharply. This camera has gotten me out the the studio and on the hunt.

List of reasons why the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 is my favorite camera:

1. The feel of the camera in my hand.
2. The option for manual focus
3. The sharp photos
4. The cost
5. The color adjustment graph for my studio fluorescent lamps.   
6. The image stabilizer.
7. The 12x zoom
8. The ability to shoot RAW images 

The more I would ask for, but can’t afford:

1. Inter-changable lens
2. Large individual color light sensors

  Bill’s words

Our collectible business has been a great resource for found objects that we see as art. Some of these objects we can bring home for inspiration, while others we can only bring home in the form of a photo. Many of the objects we acquire are used in arrangements to tickle our minds. But when it comes to an old tractor sitting in a field, the photo of the tractor just begs me to create the minds eye view I see inside my head. Then the play begins. The “McCormick Deering West” photo is the result of one of these play sessions. This particular tractor spoke with the streamlined optimism of the 1939 World’s Fair, but now speaks of a rusted machine age bone yard. As I age I see that bone yard more in focus. The art play that I took for granted is now being grabbed with a less cavalier attitude. The hunt is on. The object is the tool. The tool pries open the mind. The mind sees. The fun is alive. Please enjoy the photo.

Bill’s words

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I’m right brained and right eyed, “OH MY”. How can you tell which side is dominant, your right brain or your left brain, your right eye or your left eye? Yes, one of our eyes is more dominant. The side of the brain that is dominant is the easiest to identify. Are you left handed or right handed? If you’re right handed, you’re left brained. Yes, the left side of your brain operates the right hand and right side of the body. If you use your right hand the most, then you are left brained. I use my left hand the most which means I”m right brained. To tell which of your eyes is most dominant you need to take a little test. The test is best done with two people. Get a large piece of paper and cut a small 1/2 inch circle in the middle of the sheet. The person being tested holds the sheet of paper up at arms length and sights through the hole. The other person stands about 3 feet away on the opposite side of the paper and holds a finger up in front of their face. The tested person lines up the sight hole so they can see the finger of the other person. Next the tested person closes one eye at a time. The eye that can still see the finger is the dominant one. When I close my left eye, I can still see the finger. If I close my right eye, without moving the paper, I can no longer see the finger. This makes me right eyed. Now for the “OH MY” part. The right side of the brain which controls the left hand and the left side the body also controls the left eye. Most folks are right handed and right eyed which makes the left brain dominant. Most left hander’’s are also left eyed making the right brain dominant. Since I’m left handed (right brained) and right eyed (left brained) neither brain side is dominant. The “OH MY” is cross brain dominance which equals dyslexia. In some following post I’ll get into this dyslexic life a little more. 

Bill’’s words

PS: When we talk to each other, we only look at one eye. Most people, being right eyed, look at the other person’s right eye. Did you ever talk to someone and feel they weren’t looking you in the eye? that they weren’t listening? that you weren”t connecting?  Maybe they were looking at your non-dominant eye… and therefore you were not seeing “eye to eye”.

PS 2: In the early 70′’s, a friend recommended Carl Sagan’’s book “The Dragons of Eden” which began my investigations into the workings of the right and left sides of the brain. If you find the subject of right and left brain interesting, you might enjoy this book.’

A few years ago Kathy and I started collecting Swatch Watches. The visual diversity that artists and designers displayed in these plastic jewels was captivating. To discover the artistic variety within the limitations of a wrist watch has been inspiring. For the next few months we will be offering some of our Swatch gems for sale. We have always enjoyed the process of assemblage. After we learn what we can from the accumulation we like to resell the gathering and start putting together another collection. We”ve done this in the past with acquisitions of flamingos, masks, perfume bottles and dig ups just to name a few. This is why it’s great to be in the collectibles business …buy, collect, have fun, and sell.

PS. A valuable information resource is the Catalog for Swatch Watches “Swatch-Clopedia“. 

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I’ve had the hots for Bakelite for as long as I can remember… before books… before boys… before art… there was Bakelite! I was too young to put a name on those objects of my desire… but I knew I was in love with that pair of translucent sea green fish swimming through my mother’s jewelry box… and the big picture hat that looked as if it were made of butterscotch candy. I wanted to see it again and again, feel it, taste it… I begged her to let me see them at every opportunity. Twenty years later while foraging through a flea market, I found the most wonderful red heart hanging from a sensual arrow pin. It was big, marbled, shiny and lucious. The memory of my childhood attractions returned. I was was in love all over again! I began hunting. I found more and more of these beautiful objects. They were little works of art, hand carved treasures.

In the early days, cleaning my treasures in warm water released an old familiar smell… another childhood memory of family outings, day trips, picnic lunches, and the smell I got when drinking milk from those old green cups in the family picnic basket. They must have been Bakelite too! Since then, I’ve bought (and kept) and sold hundreds of Bakelite items. Buyers often want to know if I’ve tested the piece to be sure that it’’s Bakelite or they ask me What is the test for Bakelite?

Before I explain the tests, I’d like to point out that Bakelite is just one of the brand names for a class of plastics known as phenolic resins. Most phenolics are thermosetting plastics which means they need heat to make them harden (not like Lucite and Acrylics which harden on their own chemically… Thermoplastics.). Thermosetting plastics can never be melted and reshaped. All phenolics, depending on the company making them, had slightly different formulas. Some are more stable than others. Some, like Bakelite, will test positive with the liquid applied tests because it was made from a less stable formula and the surface oxidized (changed with exposure to air) more easily than others. Catalin (another brand name) was a more stable phenolic and as such doesn”t respond to the surface tests used on Bakelite.

Bakelite responds to various cleaners, Scrubbing Bubbles, Windex, 409 and others, by leaving a yellow deposit on a paper towel when wiped with one of these substances. The more it has oxidized (changed color) the more intense the yellow will be. If you are planning to sell something you’ve tested like this, do it on an unobtrusive spot so that you won”t change the look of it. Don’t clean the whole piece so that the buyer will still have a place to check it themselves.

Catalin is more stable, doesn’t oxidize in air or react to these tests but it is still a phenolic resin. Lots of the jewelry made in the late 30’s and early 40’s was actually made from Catalin. Catalin has the same look as Bakelite and is just as collectible. Many folks consider the two to be the same… which they really are… but since Catalin doesn’t respond to these tests, some people overlook it. Catalin can be tested with the hot water test. I prefer to cite the Scrubbing Bubbles test on eBay because that’’s what most buyers want to know… but pick a piece you know is Bakelite and run it under hot water. You can smell it. It’s a very distinctive smell once you are aware of it. Catalin smells like that too. I’m not sure if it’’s the phenol or the formaldehyde or a combination of both. But just a caution… don”t use it on anything blue or purple. I did that once on a great little laminated chevron rainbow piece and the blue and purple changed to gray which ruined it.

Then there is always the red hot pin test. If you must test this way… do it in as unobtrusive a spot as possible so as not to ruin the piece in the event that it is not Bakelite (back of pins, inside bead hole). Thermosetting plastics can never be melted and reshaped. They are heat resistant and have been used for products where resistance to heat is important… pot handles, toaster handles, insulators, radio cases, etc. These pieces will resist your attempt to push a red hot pin into them while other plastics will melt. Hold a pin in a flame until the tip glows red hot. Use a pair of pliers to hold the pin or push the head end into a big cork before heating or use a pin in a wooden handle (the type potters use) so that you don’t burn yourself. Try to push the pin into the piece in question. If it won’t go in or only leaves a tiny pin point dot, it is a thermosetting plastic. Be careful when you do this as celluloid and any thin walled plastic will melt quickly. The pin could go through the entire piece and ruin it. Any piece that allows the pin to pierce it is made of some other type of plastic.

Be careful doing the hot pin test. Keep pieces away from open flames and from your face when you are testing them. Cellulose nitrate will ignite instantly near an open flame. Polyurethane and other foams should not be tested this way as they are highly flamable and have an awful smoke when burning. All plastics have their own individual odors and can be identified by them. More information about these tests, the nature of plastics, a chart of plastics with their individual characteristics and smells can be found in the book Art Plastics Designed for Living by Andrea DiNoto. This is just a great book, not only for this technical information but also for history, design information, and some really great photos of fantastic objects.

Kathy’s words

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Fantastic Early Goebel Orange Dog Perfume Lamp is made of translucent porcelain and has wonderful glass eyes. Both the dog and his eyes have a warm, magical glow when the light is turned on. He has a circle of holes in the top of his head for the heat of the bulb to escape so that he won’t crack. There is a small reservoir on the back of his neck where perfume was placed. The heat of the lamp warmed the perfume and gently spread the desired fragrance into the air. Perfume lamps were popular in the 20’s and 30’s and came in many shapes and sizes… a forerunner of the air freshener, but infinitely more romantic! This little creature measures 4-1/2″ high, 4″ at the widest point and 5-1/4″ from front to back. The marks on one foot are the broad incised crown, ST256 is incised under the crown and the letter B. is handwritten in black underglaze stain. Dep. is incised on the other foot. Germany is stamped in black stain near that, on the edge. All of the marks can be seen in the photos. The light works. The socket is held in place inside with a little metal arm that goes through the body and is fastened on the outside with a little white knob. The cord has an old style, blimp shaped, in-line bakelite switch. There are a few little flakes in the orange glaze on his right hind thigh (these can be seen in the photos - bottom area is the flakes, top area is reflected light in the photo), one at the base near that and a tiny one at his front right elbow. There is a manufacturing flaw, a little rough spot on the top center of his back where something (a bit of brick) fell into the molten glaze during the firing. There are a couple of little pin holes in the glaze that also occurred in the manufacturing process. These don’t take away… just want to let you know they are there. He is a little treasure that could be the perfect highlight in a romantic or exotic boudoir!

Kathy’s words

Some other different perfume dispensers

Green Face

Our Western culture likes the analogies of self discovery that usually involve descriptions of the light at the top of the mountain, the climbing towards, the pushing of the rock. When we were potters we were always striving to make the perfect pot, the masterful pot. A gift that most potters eventually stumble upon is the Japanese tea cup. Strangely enough, this innocent little tea cup can lead one to the paradox of simplicity wrapped around a deep understanding for life. For me, this attempt to understand life, is what art is all about. The Japanese tea cup broke me away from trying to make the bigger more perfect pot. This break also led me to look at Eastern culture for a deeper insight into our humanness than the mountain climb. So when I heard the Eastern analogy describing all people as wells, I was intrigued. The story goes that all people are like wells. We put barriers around our wells for protection. We decorate our wells to fit into a community or to stand out of a community. The tops of our wells display the values we have. We work very hard to keep our well heads beautiful and in agreement with the well heads around us. We work so hard that we have little time to enjoy the water in the well. If we only slowed down and stopped swimming we could relax. We could relax enough to sink more deeply into the well. Could we stay relaxed as we sank deeper and the water got colder? If we could relax enough and sink deep enough, we would eventually discover the deep springs that feed all the wells, the water springs that nourish us all. Whether you are making art or enjoying a found object, just relax and enjoy the springs of life. The peak at the mountain top can only hold one of us, but the springs of the well can nourish us all.

Bill’s word